Most business owners see a huge value in showing up in Google search results for ideal keyword searches. To move up in these “organic” rankings on Google, many business hire an expert or agency to do “Search Engine Optimization (SEO). While SEO is often the very best bang for your digital marketing budget, it’s often not clear how much is needed.

Is SEO a one-time “optimization” that takes 10 hours? Or do you need to sign a 1-year contract to succeed?

While there’s not a “one size fits all” standard answer, for most business, you need at least a 1-year program to compete.

Consider, your competition may have been doing SEO for 10 years now. They may have an agency or internal staff working on ranking above you. As soon as you stop moving up the rankings (or maintaining if you already are at the top), there is competition ready to take that position.

I had a business-to-business client who did a “pilot” 3-month SEO program last year. Organic as well as overall traffic doubled in that period. Once the program stopped, they went back to their original traffic level. Wisely, they resumed the work this year. It was a good reminder to me that Google rewards activity – notably, new and/or expanded content.

Now, be somewhat reassured, that once you rank well, you don’t “fade” the minute you stop. For this reason, I often refer to SEO as “the most permanent” digital marketing channel. That, versus Google ads, email marketing, or Facebook and social media. In all of those, if you stop producing, sales leads stop overnight.

So why do some people think you can simply “optimize” a site quickly? The answer is that 10 years ago, a lot of SEO was simply tagging content and building links. And, it would work quickly! These tactics are still helpful, but it takes much more today. New, frequent content is the key now. Any SEO program should include writing new content on a monthly basis at minimum. If it doesn’t, there is simply no chance to rank well in Google.

Keep in mind, SEO experts all have their own strategy. The reason is because while Google gives some “basic” tips, they leave a lot of their over 200 ranking factors in the algorithm a secret. It is the reason Google is the most trusted search engine, and it won’t reveal its secret. So companies like us here at jSinger Marketing become experts out of years of trial and error. We can often tell you the odds of you ranking well before a program begins.

The SEO world can be the “Wild West” for sure. Google could change its standard at any time. Watching these trends is important, as is watching rankings to make sure they don’t fall.

We offer a free Google rankings review with our accurate, location-bias-free software. Reach out if you’d like to know where you stand.

“I have continued to work with jSinger and refer clients to them when possible. They are responsive, creative, up-to-date with digital and integrated marketing trends, and fully understand the ROI world of marketing we live in today.”

Valerie B., National Marketing & Communications Manager, Senior Living Company